ETHIOPIA is the new flavour of the month for Africa watchers. The East African nation led the pack of fastest-growing economies — not just in Africa, but in the world — in 2015. While many African nations are struggling to cope with plunging currencies and falling revenue from commodities, Ethiopia’s economy grew 8.7% last year and is set to expand 8.1% in 2016, according to International Monetary Fund (IMF) estimates.

Ethiopia is in the driving seat, as investors from East and West seize on opportunities in sectors ranging from construction to brewing. Though they are global competitors, China, the US and Europe can complement each other here, say the ingenious functionaries in the state investment commission.Though her farm is small and the rains have been disappointing, farmer Meseret Daba is looking forward to a profitable harvest this year. The 36-year-old mother of five, who lives near the southern town of Assela, says her income has doubled since she devoted most of her land to barley two years ago. “My life has changed,” she said. “My family is comfortable now, and I’m sending my kids to school.”All around Meseret’s farm, international loans and foreign companies have been fuelling development. The nearby Wonji-Shoa sugar factory, operated by the state-owned Sugar Corporation, was recently expanded with loans from India’s Ex-Im bank. The Chinese company Sinohydro has upgraded the road connecting Assela with the major city of Adama.But it is a Western corporation that has affected Meseret’s life the most. She began growing barley because Diageo plc, a London-based alcoholic beverages company, initiated a programme in 2012 to source the cereal from Ethiopian small holders. Meseret and about 6,000 other farmers are receiving seeds, fertiliser and other inputs, the costs of which are deducted when they sell their harvests to local cooperatives, with Diageo’s Meta Abo beer brewery as the ultimate buyer.

A spokesperson for the Ministry of Health, Khaled Megahed, said Egypt is already taking preventative measures against a possible outbreak of the Zika virus in Egypt, in a phone interview with Daily News Egypt. According to Megahed, the ministry is working on securing two aspects: “Firstly, we must secure all ports and airports by screening and moving any individuals who may have come in contact with the virus into quarantine. Secondly, we must test mosquitoes and carefully monitor the spread of the virus,” he said. “These preventative measures already existed in Egypt before the state of emergency was declared,” he added.